The Misplaced PC: Episode 1
by Mordenkainen
Summary: A D&D player is sucked into the forgotten realms and prepares for his greatest adventure ever. Reviews are welcome. hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoy writing it. I want to give special thanks to my favorite Lich, The Jester of Fools.
1. Chapter 1

The Misplaced PC

Episode 1

Sterling Douglas was an average high school nerd with the athletic capabilities of a squid and the mind of a champion. Unlike other boys his age Sterling was terrified of girls and fast cars. As a matter of fact the only thing that he even remotely became excited about other than a math-a-thon was the magical transformation he made every friday night.

Friday nights after school he and his circle of friends gathered at his house, loaded down with their bags of books and snacks, to play Dungeons&Dragons. It wasn't like you see on t.v. though, there was no dressing up or wandering around lost in some cave. They merely used a group of set rules and regulations to act out a story told by the dungeon master, James O'Neil. On those nights the timid scrawny asthmatic group of boys transformed into rough and tumble warriors battleing evil monsters and demons to save the world and win glory for themselves and each other.

Sterling knew that this seemed kind of lame to other people who didn't understand the game or what the five of them did all night long in his parents study, but he didn't care. The game was something he enjoyed and looked forward to every weekend for the past two years since he had begged his mother for the three core books to the game for his birthday. Since then he had taken it upon himself to become the best player he could possibly be so he sat up at night reading the three books cover to cover until he knew the game inside and out. He had become so good at the game he even began to use the rules to change the outcome for his character during the game.

He had played many characters over the course of two years and killed alot of them trying crazy methods to solve a problem or not thinking before he spoke, but there was only one who stuck out in his mind as "his" character. A gnome wizard named Malus Bramblebuck currently level sixteen. Hordes of goblins and orcs had been slain at the hands of the gnome and his party and countless more bodies would litter the ground of Faerune before he was finished. Sterling couldn't wait until the next time he could play, the last session he had just gained access to eighth level spells and could not wait to unleash hell on the armys of Myth Drannor and claim the treasure him and his party had been seeking for so long in the fabled crystaline tower. Unfortuantely it was only Monday and he would have to suffer through the real world until Friday came .

The bell rang for second period and Sterling stood up from his desk in the front of the class and hurried towards the classroom door. He was quickly cut off by Dirk Johnson, captian of the football team and Sterling's long time nemisis. During Sterling's ninth and tenth grade years, Dirk had been responsible for the destruction of fourteen pairs of glasses, the reason he now opted for contact lenses not that he minded having one less nerdy stigma attatched to his name.

Dirk shoved Sterling back towards his desk tearing the smaller boy's book bag from his back. Dumping the books out on the floor he exclaimed, "You dropped something Sterling!" in the most nasal voice he could muster. Sterling's face went pale as his hated enemy picked up his weathered copy of the "Dungeon Master's Guide" and held it high in the air for everyone to see. "Well, well, well. What have we here Sterling, one of your D&D books? You're such a dork!" Dirk exclaimed as he dropped the book back on the floor and grabbed Sterling in a headlock and gave him the hardest noogie of his life. Fortunately the teacher noticed the hazing and broke them up before any more embarassment could be brought down upon him.

The teacher helped Sterling gather his things back into his bag as Dirk left the room, but as Dirk was walking out the door Sterling spotted a crumpled piece of paper in his right hand. Sterling hung his head and fought back the tears at seeing that unmistakeable piece of paper, and under his breath he quietly muttered, "Malus Bramblebuck is no more."

The rest of the day went by in a blur, Sterling couldn't help but think about how much hard work he had put into that character. There was no telling what that neanderthal would do with it, that is if he even knew what it was. To him it was a symbol of two years of hard work and planning, not just a piece of paper to be thrown away. The good times with his friends and the memories were all too well documented on that wrinkled weathered parchment. The only joy he had felt in years was just ripped from his binder and now trapped in the hands of his greatest enemy, and there was nothing he could do to get it back.

Feeling defeated and emotionaly drained Sterling wandered out to the student parking lot and climbed into his 1989 Ford Probe. He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot heading for home. Sterling stared blankly at the city as he drove until the buildings were replaced by trees and farm houses. He lived eighteen miles outside of town, on county road nineteen hundred and eleven, second house on the right. He was still in disbelief as he drove on occasionally glancing at the worn back pack in his passenger seat.

He had stared a little too long at a farm house off in the distance and when he looked back at the road a large red and blue pulsating circular object was covering the entire road. Sterling slammed on his brakes too late and his car ran into the object anyway. Sterling braced for and impact that never came. His car passed through the object as if it wasn't even there and came to a halt on top of a hill over looking a small town he had never noticed before.

At first he thought he must have ran off the road but after a short inspection of his surroundings he realized that there was no road. Confused he stepped out of his car to attempt to get his bareings. He was parked on a tall hill in what seemed to be a pasture, probably grazing land for cattle or sheep and the only landmarks he could find were unfamiliar to him. To the north were woods and a large mountain range far off in the distance and to his south a city with no paved roads or two story buildings other than the tower protruding from the center.

Sterling scratched his head as he asked aloud, "A tower?" Then he realized why the tower looked so familiar to him as he examined it for a short tiem recognizing the moon shape on its tip. His eyes widend in disbelief as he whispered to no one in particular, "Shadowdale!"

"Yes Sterling, you are much more familiar with this land than I had hoped," came a reply from the tall man standing behind him. Sterling spun to see who was speaking and was nearly knocked down in surprise whenever he saw the eavesdropper. The man was an older man with a full white beard that reached his naval, wearing a tall pointed red had and red robes. He carried a walking stick and spoke around an elaborate pipe sticking out of his mouth.

Sterling backed away in amazement as the man reached into his car and took out his backpack. He pointed at the man and said, "This can't be... you're..."

The man cut him off abruptly by saying, "I know who I am boy and what is more amazing is that you are who you are, or rather where you are. All will be explained in time," as he handed the bag to the still confused boy, " Now come along we haven't much time. Malus and the others are waiting."

Sterling nodded his head as he took the bag. Shaking his head in utter disbelief he said, "Whatever you say Elminster, this is your world, I'm just living in it."

Elminster nodded in kind and replied, "Yes young man, Faerune needs you as much as you need it.", as they both got into the Probe and drove towards Shadowdale.


	2. Chapter 2

Meeting the Party

Episode 2

The Probe rumbled down the bumpy hill as Elminster sat smoking his pipe in the pasenger seat. Sterling only stared wide eyed at the scene stretched out before him. Carts and horses lined the rought stone streets and horses were tied outside of every business lining the path. People all dressed in similar attire were walking on either side of the street pointing at the vehicle and talking amongst themselves. They continued driving until they reached the base of Elminster's tower. As he exited the car Elminster replaced his hat and said with a laugh, "You and your machine have caused quite a stir this morning."

"I guess so." Sterling replied as a sheepish grin covered his face. He grabbed his book bag from the back seat and followed Elminster into the tower. The inside was much more cozy than he had expected with the fire burning hot on one side of the accepting room, which took up most of the bottom floor. Elminster walked to a round rug on the center of the floor and motioned Sterling to join him. Sterling crossed the room and stood on the rug beside Elminster. Suddenly the rug began to move under his feet and started lifting off of the floor much like an elevator, carrying them to the next floor up, the meeting room.

Inside the meeting room there was a large seimicircle table with five people sitting around the rounded side talking amongst themselves and drinking. When Sterling moved closer to the table he could not belive what he was seeing. He knew these people or rather had helped in their creation. Without hesitating he ran to the table and began examining the drinking adventurers, and shadowing his lack of hesitation Thanos McGrut the human fighter punched him in the left eye for interupting his drink. The large man stood and exclaimed, "Who is this runt who was trying to kiss me, Elminster? I'll have none of that business while im trying to drink my ale!"

Sterling couldnt resist, "So you only kiss men while you're not drinking ale Thanos?" he asked watching the larger man carefully as the others began laughing at their long time companion's remark.

Thanos was outraged as he started across the room. Sterling knowing Thanos' temper all to well kicked a chair from the table into his path tripping the man and reviving the groups laughter once more. "Balance was never a storng skill of yours Thanos. You should stick to things you're good at like climbing and swimming."

Thanos stared at the boy in bewilderment as he regained his footing. "How do you know so much about me?" he asked as his anger took a backseat to his curiosity. "I have never even seen you in my life. Is this sorcery?"

"No," Sterling replied, "I was there whenever you were created as well as the rest of you. As a matter of fact I know everything about you five, especially Malus. I created him myself."

A green glowing ray shot past Sterlings head as the gnome turned from the table and said, "How dare you make that claim boy you haven't the foggiest idea about me."

Sterling shook his head and said, "I know how you covet your privacy Malus but you had better be carful with the spells youre filinging around. That was a disentigration spell and if you would have missed me and hit someone else that could have been very bad for whoever that might have been, besides thats a sixth level spell. You only have access to two more spells of that level today. You should save them for something more important than destroying a boy. You're dex is probably too low to hit me even if you tried again although I'm not exactly sure what my armor class would be since I'm not in the book, but anyway..."

The Gnome's jaw dropped, similar to the way Sterling's jaw did during moments of surprise, and he stared in disbelif at the boy before him. Elminster raised his hand and stopped Sterling's rant signaling that the party was convinced.

Malus looked at Elminster and asked, "What's going on here?"

Elminster motioned for everyone to sit down as he said, "This is Sterling Douglas, a boy from a differnt time or dimension or something, I'm not really sure, but what I am sure of is that he is not the first one of his kind to venture into this place. In times of great need the gods bring outsiders to our plane to help maintain the existance of the prime material plane and this land we all love so much. This boy is one of those outsiders. On his world magic and magical beasts are nonexistant only animals and humans are there. They mostly only belive in one god and the only time magic is even mentioned is during child's play. Everyone here on this plane of existance is a creation of the people on his plane of existance. We are created as characters in a game of fantasy and roleplaying where dice determine the outcome of a situation for the people on this plane and as we get better at what we do the characters gain abilities and stats in the game. I know it seems that our entire lives are then left up to chance however it is exactly the opposite. The game never ends so if a character in the game never ends then here they can never die."

Holg Imesh, the half-orc barbarian smashed his fist into the table and said, " You tellin' me that the li'l guy an' his friends decide if I live or die?"

"Yes," Elminster curtly replied, "He could end your life as we speak with the roll of the dice. More importantly still he could decide how you die and who does it. Fortunatly for you all he loves you and cares about what happens to you each as an individual."

Malus stared at Elminster for a minute taking it all in before he asked, "How do you know all of this Elminster?"

Elminster paused for a long while and his eyes seemed distant as he said, "Because many many years ago I was toying around with the plane shift spell and I accidentaly met my creator and he explained everything to me in detail. I spent many years in their plane studying and learning of their science and technology, but when i returned it was as if no time had passed at all. However the way I understand it, only a few days may have passed in their time since I was or many years depending on how the games master decided to tell the story."

Sterling shifted his weight nervously from one side to the other waiting on the party's reaction to all of this. Malus was finaly the first one to speak. He looked up from the table and examined Sterling for a minute then said, "Well Sterling let's see these artifacts you have," as he gestured towards the table.

A grin spread across Sterling's face as he emptied the contents of his book bag onto the table before the party. This truly was his dream come true.


	3. Chapter 3

The Mission

Episode 3

Sterling clapped his hands together over the pile of books and dice on the table. In addition to his D&D books he also had his school books and a few note books and pens. After about an hour of oohs and aaahs from the group, mainly from Malus and Gerbo, the gnome bard of the group, Sterling was ready to get down to business.

"So what's the quest fellas?" he asked hopefully, "Saving a village, killing an army of orcs, slaying a dragon?"

"Nothing like that I'm afraid," said Elminster as he shook his head, "They were simply contracted by the dwarves to go into the Zhentil Keep to retrieve the Moaning Diamond from 'The Worms' thieves guild."

Sterling rolled his eyes into the back of his head as he dropped his arms to his side he said, "Ugh! That's the lamest quest ever1 You guys are all fourteenth level or better you shouldn't be running errands for the Dwarves. Drizzt is only sixteenth level and his party never plays errand boy for anyone," he stood up and began pacing back and forth in front of the table as the others watched on amazed at his rant, "Ok! Here's the deal. Malus you just have to call up your old friend Lord Orgauth, he owes you a favor. Have him storm the western entrance to the keep demanding that there was an intrusion by the Zhents at his citadel. Then we will enter from the northern gate and make our way unnoticed by the understaffed guard to the center of town at an inn called 'The Roaring Dragon'. From there we enter the basement of the inn and locate the trap door to the sewers in the right corner and after that its only two roaming patrols of thieves and couple of left turns to the treasure room of 'The Worms' thieves guild."

The party couldn't belive what they had just heard. Malus stood up and said, "How do you know this will work? You seem so sure that Lord Orgauth will agree to these strange requests, and how do you know so much about the lair of the thieves guild?"

Sterling looked at the group and answered in a matter of fact tone, "Because I've beaten this quest on more than one occasion with several characters on different time lines. It's an easy starter quest but this time it's not against the rules to use out of character information so we will complete this quest and move on to something much more important. Why let Drizzt and his party have all the credit you're all as good as they are, if not better."

Cade Blackstag the elven cleric stood and said, "Well I think we should give this thing a try at least, he seems to know what he's talking about."

As the rest of the party was nodding in agreement Elminster said to Sterling, "Remember there is a reason that using out of character information is against the rules."

Gerbo interrupted the conversation by grabbing Sterling around the neck and saying, "I like this kid he knows more about this crazy land than even I do, and thats saying something," as he messed up the boys hair.

Malus stood and said, "That's enough horse play let's get down to business here. What exactly are we up against?"

Sterling rubbed his eye, wishing he had brought an extra pair of contacts to school with him that day, and replied, "Whenever I played through this the first time we had to sneak and fight our way through miles and miles of a labyrinthian sewer system to retrieve this trinket for the dwarves so that they can continue mining their precious gems from the mountain. The way I have explained takes you in the back door without the trouble of too much sneaking and fighting. It took me well over a tenday to complete this quest the first time but now with the out of character information it can be completed in less than twenty four hours," he paused to rub his eye again, "So why don't you contact your old friend and put things in motion, as you always say 'The sooner you start, the sooner you finish'."

Malus didn't know what to say to that so he picked up his staff and began waving it in the air, after a moment or two there was a quiet crackle and a small intake of air as Malus vanished from sight. Everyone stood around as if nothing unusual had happend except for Sterling of course who had been completly unprepared for the seemingly commonplace spell. It was nothing like he had imagined it there were no flashing lights or chanting he was just there one minute and gone the next. Sterling began to examine the spot where Malus was standing whenever he teleported for chared wood or some other evidence that a spell had been cast there. He even went so far as to get down on his hands and knees to inspect the floor much to the entertainment of the rest of the party and Elminster. He searched diligently for any kind of residue or other sign of the passing. Looking back over his shoulder to the other he said, "There is nothing here!"

Gerbo chuckled as he replied, "Are you sure? If I were you I would check again," then burst out laughing as he watched Sterling turn back around, standing on his knees, and touch noses with the gnome wizard as he remateralized before his eyes. The room burst into laughter as they tried to surmise which of the two was more surprised. The boy and the gnome scrambled away from one another both blushing terribly embarassed.

Elminster walked over still grinning from the show and asked, "What has Lord Orgauth to say on the mission?"

Malus, still flustered from the sudden surprise, took a minute to gather himself and replied, "He accepted since he actually does have a problem with Zhent scouting parties encroaching into his territory and would be happy to stir up some trouble as a guise to cover our passage into the city. However he plans to march at dawn so we must not tarry long," he then made a strange gesture and a balck and grey stripped housecat bounded out of the shadows and jumped into his arms. Sterling was not surprised in the least to see the strange beast appear out of nowhere. He knew the animal also, it was Stripes, Malus' faithful familiar and companion. The only thing about the cat was the black stripes on its back seemed to swallow it completly in darkness allowing it to become nearly invisible.

Gerbo walked to the boy's side and whispered, "I hate when he does that. Don't tell anyone but I am terrified of cats."

Sterling nodded toward the small man and said, "I already knew that Gerbo. Let's get our things together we have along journery ahead of us."

**. . .**

The sun was setting as the party set up camp along the road north of the keep, in the distance Sterling could see the entire city begin to light up from the torches being lit in the city. He had never given any thought as to how daunting some tasks seemed without any magic powers or weapons at your side. All he had to his advantage was the composite longbow and leather armor given to him by Elminster for the trip, and a bag full of books and dice. He had opted for the bow because for a few years as a boy scout he had attended archery camp and had never even touched a real sword let alone practiced with one. On second thought he had never killed anyone either. He sat brooding over the events that were about to unfold in the morning and wondered if when the time came he could preform as the need arose.

Thanos saw the boy sitting by the fire and recognized the look on his face, he had seen it many times before a battle. He stood up and crossed the camp to where the boy was sitting and took a seat beside him on the log. "You ok?" he asked as he stared intently at the boy. He knew that Sterling had never seen combat outside of a game before but he wasn't sure he was the right one to be comforting the boy. "It's going to be pretty rough tomorrow if we have to fight, you know. Have you ever killed before?" he asked already knowing the answer as he watched Sterling shake his head as he stared blankly into the fire, "Well just keep your head down and remember, if the need arises you will do what you must to survive. That is the only advice I can give you, that and remember that you are among friends who will help you as much as you have helped us."

Sterling felt a little more confident as he looked up from the fire at the large man, a smile spreading across his face, "Thank you Thanos I really needed that. I shouldn't fear anything with the greatest assembled party in all of Faerune at my side. Its just too bad Elminster decided not to come along, he always seems to be preoccuipied at the worst possible moments. Its the nature of the world I guess." Sterling stood form the log with Thanos and joined the others around the large fire for dinner and a follow up on the next days proceedings.

Malus was using a stick to draw the layout of the Zhentil Keep, as a demonstration for the dimmer members of the group. He outlined the basics of the mission for eveyone to see employing arrows and rocks to represent key places and tactical advantages before turning the presentation over to his whimsical cousin Gerbo.

Gerbo stood and walked to the fire turning his back to it he bowed to his friends and in a boastful voice he said, "Old friends and new, gather 'round I have much to tell you of this place we are to visit as the new day rides in on the dawn. The Zhentil Keep with all of its lore is a place of suffering and fear surrounded by those dark stone walls. The people are poor and hungry but most of all ready for a change. The First Lord Chess is a foppish coward who is nothing more than a front man who is terrified of the leader of the 'Balck Network' that opperates in the city, Manshoon. We all know this name and yet we know very little about him for he is quite famous in Daggerdale and has his fingers dipped into all of our beloved sister cities."

"Shadowdale is the last remaining defense against the 'Black Network' and I belive that is the reason Elminster chose this quest for us, more of an information gathering mission than an actual challenge of our skills. While we are inside the city we must be sure to take note of everything we see so that we can report back to Elmister on the movements of our enemies. Now thanks to our new friend and collegue we will have a front row seat to see how the Zhents react to a direct threat which is most fortunate. Now make sure while in the streets you keep a watchful eye out for the press gangs and for the eyes and ears of Manshoon in the taverns and businesses."

"Do not let anyone know we are from Shadowdale and avoid the mentioning of another god's name other than Bane. This means you too Cade. If the monks of 'The Black Altar' belive there is another religion encroaching upon their territory it will be trouble and unwanted attention," Cade nodded in agreement and placed the talisman of Shar inside his shirt, "Other than all of that old rot we should be able to have a pretty good time inside the city tomorrow." Gerbo produced a lute seemingly from thin air and asked, "Anyone for some music?" as he began to play and sing for the party.

Sterling sat riveted through the performance unable to ignore the amazing melodies of the little bard, and soon he drifted off to sleep with the soothing rythm still resounding in his ears.

Sterling rolled out of his bedroll as the boot made contact with his ribs. "Time to go!" Holg whispered harshly as Sterling began to gather his things. The rest of the party was already awake eventhough it was still dark outside. Sterling noticed Malus waving his arms and chanting as horses began to appear on the road beside them.

As the horses appeared Malus said, "Six should be efficient enough." and mounted his pony. Everyone else took a mount and began riding towards town. Sterling was having trouble controling his horse since he had only ridden two in his entire life, each time at a circus, he wasn't exactly an old hand. After about an hour or so of riding he began to get the hang of it, and could even manage to stop the horse when he wished.

"He's a natural!" Gerbo shouted as he rode past Sterling at a trot on his pony,"Now all he has to do is learn to fire his bow from up there and he'll be set." Sterling only smiled at the little man's compliment if it was indeed a compliment.

Just before dawn they reached the gates to the city. Huge Iron doors reaching around sixty feet in the air loomed before them and one of the six guards stationed at the gate approached the party cautiously. Gerbo being the flamboyant one of the group took the lead addressing the guard, "Hello friend how are you?"

The guard stopped flustered by the friendly greeting this early in the morning before asking, "What brings you to Zhentil Keep at this hour in the morning?"

Gerbo never missed a beat, "I am a traveling merchant coming to trade food goods with Ringult Hornhelm, and these are my traveling companions whom I've met along the way," he said as he pointed to the boy the wizard and the cleric, then moving his hand to point at the fighter and barbarian of the group he sain, "And these two are my personal body guards. Traveling in numbers is much safer than in groups along the road and we were all bound for the same location after we finish our business here friend."

The guard eyed the group as he asked, "And where might that be?"

Gerbo replied simply, "Tilverton of course," as if there was never even a reason to ask.

If the guard was surprised by this he did a very good job of hiding it as he said, "Ok well in you go then, and tell Ringult he still owes me fourty pieces from last weeks card game."

Gerbo tipped his hat and said, "Not a problem friend he will recieve the message post haste," as he rode by the guard into the city followed by the other members of his party.

After they were well into the city Sterling said, "That was amazing Gerbo! How did you know that he knew that Ringult guy?"

"I didn't, but Ringult Hornhelm is a notable smith here in the city that is known for trading food good for local metals and weapons."

"Oh. That was a lucky break then i guess." replied Sterling.

Gerbo retorted by saying, "Either that or you have a friend looking out for us up there."

This caused Sterling to think. What if his friends were playing right now and he had become part of the game somehow what a strange paradox that would be. He shook the thought out of his head and began to admire the strange and alien cityscape as he rode by.

Every building seemed to be at least six stories high, and leaning against one another like dark cliffs towering over the cobblestone streets. The streets of this croweded city were overgrown with crabweed and lichen sprouting up through the cobbles, but Sterling saw no trees or patches of grass the entire time he had been inside the dark walls. He also notice great iron gates set into the building walls, designed to cut off key streets in event of a siege or invasion. People covered the dirty streets and the homeless and beggers seemed ot make up most of the population. Sweeping bands of thugs could be seen rounding up the people off of the streets and shakleing them into wagons to be sold as slaves.

On one side of the street a man was flung bodily through a door into the street only to be trampled by the horses of the passing press gang. Sterling heard one of the man curse about the amount of money that could have been made off of the man as he lay dieing in the street. He and his party rode on as if this were an everyday occurence.

Soon after the sun came up Sterling heard the bellowing of a loud horn and he observed the members of a press gang and a few city guards heading to the west gate to report to their superiors. Sterling smiled to himself as he watched the confused men charging down the street knowing that this adventure was about to begin.

The party entered "The Roaring Dragon" about an hour after the first horn blew and now they all sat at a corner table in the large inn dicussing their next move. "Somehow we need to get into the basement of this building without being noticed." Sterling said urgently.

Malus thought for a minute and then a smile spread across his face as he said, "Holg, go and get us a room upstairs. I have a plan."

Holg took out a bag of gold and walked up to the bar, as he began talking to the bar keep Malus and the rest of the party moved towards the stairs. Holg rejoined the party and they headed up the stairs Sterling noticed Malus had left his bag under the table and it was now moving.

After entering the quaint little room Malus said, "Now we wait until I can get a clear picture of the room from Stripes and we can all teleport to the basement." Sterling smiled as Malus was talking realizing that was exactly what he would have done had he been put in the situation in the game.

It took about a half hour for Stripes to sneak into the basement and around an hour for Malus to find a spot large enough for all of them to fit comfortably without someone becoming wedged in a wall or shelf upon arrival. Then the party joined hands in a circle around Malus and he began reading from the scroll he had taked out of his satchel. Cade reached out and placed his hand on Malus' shoulder as the parchment burst into flames and burned to ash. Sterling was disappointed that the scroll hadn't worked as he watched the last of the scroll be consumed in flames, but as the final piece of the paper disappeared they were suddenly standing in a cold room full of empty barrels and crates.

Gerbo walked over to the corner and moved a crate off of the trap door leading to the sewers as Malus picked stripes up off of the floor and placed him back into his satchel. "Wait! Let me check it for traps Gerbo." Cade said as Gerbo took his lockpick set out of his hat. Cade walked across the room as he pulled his talisman of Shar and began reciting a prayer. A dull purple light transferred from the talisman around his neck to the trap door on the floor and the purple light slowly changed into a bright white as Cade said, "Okay Gerbo, now you can work "your" magic."

Gerbo bowed slightly and held his arm out indicating Cade could pass back the way he came as he replied, "As always, after you my friend." Cade moved back across the room out of the little mans was and within seconds Gerbo had picked the lock and was opening the trap door to the sewers.

The sewers were around thirty foot wide with a five foot wide trench in the center to carry the waste of the city out into the ocean. The smell was a horrible mixture of bodily excrement and wet earth. Sterling could feel the excitment building as he was about to complete his first quest as a member of Faerune. gerbo led the way up the corridor in the direction Sterling had indicated as south, they continued along until they came to the first left into another tunnel. Sterling's heart froze as he saw the three torches at the other end of the tunnel coming his way.

The rest of the party seemingly disappeared without a word, jumping into shdows and diving into culverts or drainage pipes, leaving Sterling alone in the dark to face this patrol on his own. He was shaking as he took the bow from it place on his back and knoced an arrow in its string. Sweat dripped from his brow as he took aim down the shaft of his arrow trying to determine where the best place to shoot the possible enemy would be. The edge of their light was only about fourty feet away as he closed his eyes and let the string go awaiting the sound of contact.

The sound never came. He opened his eyes to see Thanos standing beside him holding the arrow he had plucked from Sterling's bow seconds before the release of the string. Thanos grabbed the shocked boy and drug him into the shadows to their right covering his mouth with a vice like grip.

The patrol grew closer as Sterling watched from the shadows, and he felt himself growing anxious as the edge of their light came within ten feet of his position. Just as he thought he and Thanos would be illuminated by the light of the patrols torches, a strong wind blew through the tunnel extinguishing the torches, leaving the patrol in complete darkness. Sterling saw sparks flying as the confused members of the patrol attempted to relight their torches in the gale that had suddenly risen here in the sewers. Suddenly in the darkness Sterling heard a loud sound similar to the sound of velcro being pulled apart follwed by a loud pop and a flash of green light.

Shortly after the strange display in the darkness Gerbo relit the candle he had previously been carrying, and sterling saw six men covered in what apearde to be oversized spider web pinned unconcious to the wall of the sewer. He looked up at Thanos who only smiled and said, "Don't worry you will learn in time young one," and continued walking with the others down the tunnel.

The rest of the trek went on uneventful. The party reached the room with the moaning diamond, bypassing the magical traps on the door and walked inside. Unfortuantely there was one thing Sterling hadn't factored in, time. Whenever they opened the door they were greeted by a very startled and surprise man.

Sterling's eyes widened and he took a step back along with the rest of the party as Gerbo exclaimed, "Manshoon!"

Sterling couldn't figure out what had gone wrong until he realized that Manshoon was just now placing the diamond in the room. How could he have been so stupid not to realize what was going on. Getting here early ment that certain events hadn't even taken place yet. As he contemplated the error of his ways the party attacked.

Thanos drew his longsword and charged the surprised man slicing deep into his arm causing him to drop the diamond to the floor of the room. Hold tackled the man shortly afterwards, pinning him with his massive strength to the wall at the back of the room, but somehow the thin man slipped out of his hold and bolted for the door. Cade dodged in front of the fleeing man, but Manshoon was ready for this and burried a dagger in the cleric's stomach all the way to the hilt. Cade looked down in surprise as blood poured from his wound.

Sterling saw the attack and chased after the fleeing man as the Gnomes both tried to secure the diamond. Manshoon charged through the door with Sterling fast on his heels. Outside the door Sterling stopped and drew his longbow. He knocked an arrow took aim at the fleeing thief and then let it fly. The arrow struck home lodging itself into Manshoon's back between his left hip bone and his rib cage, possibly puncturing his kidney or liver. Manshoon grabbed at his back and began to stumble as Sterling loosed another arrow, which peirced his side, knocking him to the ground. Seeing that Manshoon fell he returned to the room to check on Cade.

Cade was lying in a pool of his own blood as Thanos was removing the daggere from the wound. Cade looked up to see Sterling coming back into the room and he asked plainly, "Did you get him?"

Sterling nodded and Cade smiled in approval as Thanos quickly pulled the dagger from his stomach, and began packing cloth into the wound. Sterling somberly asked Cade if there was anything he could do for him and when the reply came as a no Sterling joined the others and watched Thanos work.

After about a half hour the blood had stopped coming out of the hole and the pain had subsided enough that Cade could concentrate on a prayer hard enough to heal himself. Then Sterling realized that in the tension of the moment he had forgotten all about Manshoon lying dead in the tunnel out side. He stood and walked out the door to where he had left the dying man. When he looked down the hall his heart sank. Where there was once lay a dying man now only two burning torches remained, the other patrol had found their leader and carried him away. Reenforcements were probably on their way right that moment. "Guys!" he shouted, "We've gotta get out of here fast.

Malus joined him outside the room, realizing what had happened he began encanting immediately and with a crackle and a short intake of air all six members of the party had disappeared into the darkness of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Complications

Episoide 4

Sterling sat in the floor of the meeting room in Elminster's tower. The past two days he had hardly eaten and hadn't spoken to any of the members of the party. He merely sat, staring blankly into the fire place as the wheels in his head raced trying to wrap around the events of the last few days. He was in a strange place no matter how familiar it felt to him and his actions had direct effect on the people around him. However he was not the only one who was absent from the group, Elminster was nowhere to be found since he had returned the "Moaning Diamond" to the dwarves. When he returned he entered his room and noone had seen hide nor hair of him since.

The other members of the party stood around the meeting table planning their next move to resist the indirect attacks on the city by the "Black Network", as they had their supper. Over the past few months the Zhents had been slowly infiltrating the city, no doubt planning an offensive from the inside when the time was right, whenever that may be. Malus was just explaining the rapidly growing population in the poor corner when suddenly Elminster came walking out of his room with strange look on his face. The situation was so strange that even Sterling stood and came to the center of the room.

Elminster walked to his seat at the table and sat heavily upon the ornate wooden chair. Brushing the long white hair from his eyes he said, "We have a problem." Everyone in the room gathered closer as the old wizard spoke, obviously noting the urgency in his voice. As the others gathered closer he continued, "When you six retrieved the stone from the sewers I felt a strong disturbance in the weave, it was so large that it may have actually been a rip or tear in the very fabric of magic. This concerned me greatly so I called a conference with Mystra and a few other dieties, manly the ones concerned with arcana. We have discovered that by using Sterling's "out of character information" and killing Manshoon you have unwittingly altered reality itself." The party looked to one another's faces in total disbelief as Elminster paused to take a drink from his mug on the table. "Manshoon was a very powerful man who is now dead, there is very little we can do about that, but the death was early and it came at a bad time for the god's who were rivaling his diety Bane. Now with the death of Manshoon, Bane has a powerful ally on his side and has begun to wage an all out war with the greater gods with Manshoon as his armies Grand General." Elminster hung his head and shook it as if he were trying to shake the thoughts from his memory, then removing the hair from his eyes once agin he said, "The other gods are losing the battle since they were completely unprepared for the attacks. Manshoon was supposed to live for many more years before falling out of grace with Bane. As we speak the battle rages through the heavens and gods fall to their knees before the army of Bane. So far four have fallen to his might and three have joined him. Mystra see's nothing other than complete alliance with Bane to stop the murderous god from having what he wants. The gods have called upon their champions to join the battle in hopes to turn the tides of the battle so I must go to join my fellow compatriats to once again defeat evil in its purest form."

"What can we do to help Elminster, not that we have much sway amongst gods, but I'm positive we can fight along side you and slay many demons and devils in his ranks," said Cade, feeling unnaturally pious he announced, "My life for Shar!"

Elminster hung his head as he replied, "She has fallen."

Cade's brave demeanor shrank as he sat back in his chair. Thanos stood and placed his hand on the cleric's shoulder and said, "There must be something we can do to help. We can't just sit here and wait for them to win."

"No, you have work to do yet my friends," Elminster replied with a glint of mischief in his eye, "There is still a champion in this multiverse who needs no god or country and you must mold him into the hero he will be. Young Sterling still has much to learn and he will need to find the tools of his trade each is marked on the map in my room. Malus we have spoken of this many times over tea and bread and now you know what must be done. I must go now to serve Mystra in all of her glory and protect the realms until you are successful," he turned to Sterling and said, "Use everything you can to save the one thing you love, for as we speak your precious books are being rewritten. All great heros share your form."

Then Elminster began to glow white hot and slowly he became more and more translucent until he was nolonger standing before them. Malus crossed the room in silence and returned shortly carrying a rolled piece of paper in his hand. He crossed back over to the table and wiped it clean before unrolling the map on the table. As the map unraveled, Sterlings eyes nearly bulged out of his head, in the center of the map were two pieces of paper, one was a note addressed to him and the other was a character sheet partially filled out with his name at the top.

Sterling retrieved the two pieces of paper and looked down at the map of Faerune. Nine locations were marked on the map with something written by each one in a language he didn't understand, so he turned his attention to the note in his hand. It was a simple note that was easy to understand, it read, "Sterling every great hero has a starting point and this is yours. Use the weapons you are most efficient with and the scroll I have provided you with to destroy your enemy." Signed Elminster.

Sterling looked at the character sheet in his hands, the top of the sheet was filled out with his description and name, and in the class and level spot it said simply "Fighter lvl1". The rest of the page was left blank for him to fill out. He reached into his side pouch and retrieved his most valued possesions, his dice and began to roll himself out as a character.

When sterling finished he realized he was a pretty decent character with really good stats for a first level human. He had chosen Quick Draw, Point Blank Shot, and Power Attack as his three feats and a longbow and longsword as his weapons. Unlike himself his skills were based around athletics and were also pretty good. Sterling smiled to himself as he imagined himself with the abilities on the paper, destroying orc and battleing hordes of enemies.

While he was going over the sheet one last time he realized that the player and religion sections were left blank as well, so Sterling thought for a minute and smiled as he wrote "Destiny" in the religion slot and signed his name in the player section as he had a hundred times, only this time was different. As he crossed the "T" in his name the letters on the page began to glow a birght golden glow and then lifted themselves off of the page. The writing in the air swirled above Sterling's head slowly turning into dust as it lowered down to swirl around him. His body became rigid as the glowing dust touched his body and his arms stretched out from his sides as the dust lifted him from the floor in an almost crucified position. Sterling leaned his head back to scream as the rest of his party looked on in horror and amazement. As he began to scream the dust rushed quickly into his mouth an nose flowing into his body until none was left, and Sterling crumpled into a pile on the floor with a golden glow eminating from his skin.

The golden glow grew brighter as Sterling stood up from the floor. The other members of the party backed against the wall as the light became as solid white outlined figure, blinding to look intom directly. The blinding light grew continuously brighter until a huge blast of light, that could be seen bursting from the tower windows for miles around, left the source revealing Sterling standing in the middle of the room, but he had changed, he was now more fit than he was orrigionaly. His flabby arms and chest now rippled with muscles and his features were that of a powerful fighter.

Sterling stared down at himself for a minute, examining his new body structure before he gracefully walked across the room to stand before his confused party. He watched as the group stared, dumbfounded by his new appearance and self confidence, then he said cooly, "I guess now all I have to do is find a way to level up."


	5. Chapter 5

The Hero's Geas

Episode 5

Malus looked up from the map he had been studying for the better part of two days. His eyes were red and dry from the candle that he had been sitting next to for longer than he could remember, already this one had burned down to the size of his tiny thumb. He rubbed his eyes hard as he began to focus on the map once more trying to remember the final destinations purpose. After a few more reflective minutes of study he threw his arms up in disgust, mumbling a curse in gnomish he stood from the table and walked out into the meeting room to see the others.

"How goes it Malus?" Thanos asked as he parried another thrust of Sterling's longsword, "Having any luck with the last spot on that map?"

Malus shot him a cold look and said, "No! but I'm sure it will come to me in time. Once I thought there was no problem that couldn't be solved with a good night of study and contemplation, but once again Elminster has proved me wrong. We must be going soon. How is he progressing?"

Thanos shot a look at Malus that answered his question fully. Sterling had no formal training with a sword and was naturaly clumsy even with his new found strength. "He will be a fine fighter yet!" Thanos proclaimed sounding more like he was trying to convince himself rather than brag.

"Well if their is a better teacher in all of the realms I'd be hard pressed to find him." Malus said to Thanos, and then turned to Sterling noting his red cheeks and heavy breathing he said, "You're being trained by the man who broke not one but both of Drizzt Do'Urden's scimitars last year in the yearly contest of the blade in Baldur's Gate. If you can be taught he can teach you."

"Ok...Thanos...that's enough for right now. I can't handle being beaten horribly much more today." Sterling gasped between swings of his longsword.

Thanos nodded to the boy and resheathed his own sword and walked over to the table for a drink of ale and replied, "Thank the gods! I was becoming parched, my mouth was almost dry from your constant attacks," as he raised his mug to Sterling with a chuckle.

"I'll get it eventually Thanos, it's not like I've had the priveledge of years of practice like you. My survial didn't depend on my sword arm where I grew up," Sterling retorted, "I still need some practice is all."

"And lots of it!" Gerbo shouted as he and Cade entered the room from the elevating disc, "We have assembled the horses as you asked is outside tending to them as we speak."

"How are you Cade?" the wizard asked, knowing that Shar was the source of all of his powers the cleric was in a mood a little worse than could be described as sullen, "Have you had any luck?"

Cade's face darkened as he quietly replied, "I cant even cast a simple light spell, I'm almost entirely useless in that field."

Gerbo interjected with a wave of his hand, "Any man who harbors as much intelligence and information concerining the gods and their realm is anything but useless in this dark time my friend. Soon the demons of hell will rise up to join Bane in his destructive cause and nothing will stand in their way. Nothing that is except those of us still here on this plane, and it will be good to know more about them than than they know about us in that situation."

Cade's face lightened at the thought that not all hope was lost and he remembered Elminster's words to the boy. "No!" he thought, "not all hope."

Malus interrupted his thoughts by telling Gerbo to go and retrive Holg so that they might review the matter at hand. When the two returned they joined the others at the table and Malus was already pointing to a point on the map before him. "Elminster has left us five...um six the task of assembling the champions of the fallen gods who were not alerted to join the battle before the hammer fell, so to speak. We will start here," Malus said indicating a location on the map with his finger. "Tilverton home to many adventurers but we are after one party in particular."

Thanos and Holg glanced at one another with concerned looks on their faces while Gerbo began laughing and slapping Cade on the back. Sterling sat in total confusion as Thanos finally said, "No it cant be..."

Malus raised his hand to cut him off as he said, "Yes Thanos I'm afraid for you and Holg this will be more of a test of will than for the rest of us."

Thanos dropped his head and sighed aloud as Holg pushed away from the table and stormmed outside. "I can't belive our luck," Thanos said as he too stood and left the room.

"What's going on?" Sterling asked over the increased laughter of Gerbo.

Malus solemly replied, "We must go and speak with the 'Godstoppers'."

**. . .**

The sun was cresting the mountains to the east causing the sky to relect a beautiful array of pink and purple swirls in that direction. Sterling stared into the dazzling natural portrait as his head bobbed to the rythm of his horses hooves. As the sun cleared the mountians and the wonerful display of color faded into the clear blue sky he noticed something else to the south. Along stone wall covered most of the horizon before him as he rode past a sign that read "Tilverton".

The party rode through the gates of the city amazed at the changes since they had last visited, except for Sterling who had naturally never visited the plane let alone the city. Gerbo was acting as a tour guide to the city as they rode by the stone buildings and muddy stockyards lining the outer reigion of the town, saying that the last time he had visited most of the town had appeared to be like the surrounding area. Now the city was a busy bustling trade city where people form all walks of life came to do buisiness with members from other cultures, thanks largly to the Cormyrian occupation of "Tilver's Gap". The occupation gave the once humble town the protection it needed, raising a wall and attracting opportunistic merchants from Cormyr and Suzail to bolster the population of the city. Gerbo also carried on about the massive labyrinth of sewers large enough for a man to walk in lying beneath the city streets. Once the sewer system served as an elven and human trading settlement surrounding the keep of an archwizardess named Tilvara. Her keep still stands in the town on the western most edge of the town mostly ruins of a time long past. The locals refer to the ancient ruins as "Tilver's Palace", and it is rumored to hold many treasures of adventurer's lost over the years.

Sterling listened intently to the story the little man was spinning as he rode through the crouded streets of the market, continuing on to some unknown location in this city of great and rich history. He noticed many people staring at the him and his party as they passed by however none of the onlooker cared to hide their disdain. Sterling felt a chill run up his spine as he saw a man duck down an alley way on his right. Somthing seemed off about the situation and he wondered to himself why the two meaty members of the group were so angry that they were coming here. What had happened in this place and why did he feel so on edge.

Sterling was considering all of these things when he realized that Gerbo's story had stopped, and the rest of the party had dismounted and were staring at him from the ground. They had come to a large set of stairs carved into a ridge at the edge of town and would have to continue on foot.

The group continued on for an hour or more, by Sterling's estimation, before coming to the front of a large inn called "The Windlord's Rest" . The stone building was unremarkable other than its size, almost twice the size of the surrounding buildings. The party never even broke stride as they entered the inn. Inside the building it was very spacious with a large "U" shaped bar in the center and about fifteen tables around the room. Sterling smiled at the arrangement. Two serving girls and a bartender could easily handle a full crowd if they stayed in their respected areas. In one corner stood a large suit of armor that resembled an iron golem holding a tower shield, the helm nearly reached to the eight foot ceiling. Sterling wondered who might adorn such a large suit of armor but decided it was more for decoration than practical use. On either side of the room were staircases leading up, no doubt to rooms for rent and possibly the patron's lodging. There were about twenty people of all sizes and shapes sitting around the bar and at the tables, most of them were laughing and moving rhythmically to the music of a bard playing an organ and singing some song of a great hero's triumph in a watery dungeon.

Thanos and Holg quickly took a seat at a the table farthest from the bar as Gerbo produced a Lyre seemingly from nowhere and walk up beside the organ and began to play along with the bard, adding to the mystery of the ballad. Malus motioned for Sterling and Cade to follow him as he walked to the bar and took a seat. The bartender gave the group a curious look as he cleaned the mug in his right hand.

The bartender was a large human wearing a white tunic and doeskin apron around his waist. He wasn't a friendly looking man which was increased by the large scar running down through his left eye into his cheek and back up stopping above his left ear, marking a definite "V" on his face. Even though he stood relaxed behind the bar, Sterling noticed that his eyes never stayed in one place for very long as he scanned the room for trouble. The boy realized that this man was once, or may still be, a very powerful warrior.

"How can I help you, Malus?" the large bartender asked as he placed the mug he was cleaning on a shelf behind the bar.

Malus grimmaced at hearing his name spoken aloud in a place that could be crawling with enemies and spies. "We'll take three, Vladamir," he replied stressing the man's name, a point Sterling made sure to note.

Vladamir quickly filled three mugs with ale and placed them on the bar. "What brings you and those two baffoons back here so soon. You're lucky I didn't have Dayve throw you all out as soon as you swaggered into my fine establishment." The last was said with a snarl leaving Sterling wondering what had occured the last time his companions were here.

"Have you not heard?" Malus asked the perturbed man quietly.

"I've heard nothing but the sound of clanking mugs and sloshing ale for the better part of a decade old friend. What could be so important that even a modest barkeep such as I might have heard of it?" Vladamire answered lowering his voice as well, his left eye narrowing as he looked upon the gnome.

Malus looked around the room noting a few characters who looked more than wholsome enthralled by the music of the dueling bards. Malus crouched low to the bar and said as softly as he could in the language of his people, "Bane had decalred war upon the rest of the gods and is demanding obedience from all in the celestial plane. We six have been charged by Elminster to gather the champions of the fallen gods and the champions without gods to aid in the battle against Bane and his grand general Manshoon."

Vladamir leaned back from the bar seeming to take it all in. The bartender stared a long time at the little man with the big secret. "That's why you look so nervous little friend. You know I have no love for the gods but if Elminster is calling then I owe him more than my life. We will leave at once to aide the gods agianst the evil Lord Bane. It will feel good to once again fight beside my companions and let my heavy picks drink their fill of the celestial blood they once tasted. Who knows maybe they will find the mark they have hungered for all of these years. Vecna shall fall in this battle little friend and she will cry out for mercy from the torment of her soul in hell as I devour her soul."

Sterling's face twisted in confusion as he said "A bartender is going to fight back the legions of demons?"

Malus and Cad quickly began waving their hands and shaking their heads trying to make the boy shut his mouth. Vladamir laughed whole heartedly at the boys comments as he replied with the question "How has this whelp never heard of Vladamir Aramas and his mighty Godstoppers?"

The question boomed through out the inn stopping the music and drawing the attention of everyone in the building. With a single word Vladamir answered the silence, he drew in his breathe and shouted, "Out!"

Sterling had never seen people move so fast. In an instant the entire inn was clear except for the three men at the bar. Everyone was gone including the two waitresses and Gerbo Holg and Thanos. Vladamir went to the shelf behind him and poured a shot of whiskey into a small glass before draining it and two more shortly afterwards.

Malus shouted "Vladamir you don't drink."

Vladamire replied "Everyone drinks during the time of troubles."

Malus calmed and said "Are you going to go or not?"

Vladamir looked at Malus with his now fierce eyes as he gruffly replied "I am merely waiting on the others to get here." He then walked casually into the middle of the room and said, "Rickshaw move." The rug on the floor rolled itself neatly and flew to the corner revealing a large trapdoor on the floor. Vladamire lifted the door and calmly walked down a hidden set of stairs into the darkness below. After a few minutes the hulking brute returned levitating out of the hole in the floor wearing a solid gold suit of full plate armor which reflected the light of the candles in the room to an unbeliveable degree. On the chest of the armor was the symbol of an open eye and his faceguard on the helm was made into the same symbol.

Sterling stared at the figure as he landed and walked back behind the bar and poured himself another drink and removed two bracers from the false bottom in a chest he kept behind the bar before walking back into the center of the room. Sterling blinked at the spectacle and then exclaimed, "I've never seen such amazing armor before!"

Vladamir replied with a smirk, "Well just sit tight kid. This is just my underwear." He spoke a few command words and the armor in the corner took two steps from the wall and bent in half at the waist. Vladamir moved across the room and stepped into the legs of the armor which had no backs and then recited the command words again. The suit snapped back to attention completly covering the man in an iron shell, except for his head where the golden helm still shone. A huge iron hand moved up and lifted the faceguard on his helm to reveal a smiling bartender underneath. "It feels good to be back!" he exclaimed as he locked the bracers into place around his huge arms. Sterling couldn't even speak as he watched the simple bartender cross once more to the hole in the floor and reach in with one arm for his weapons. He quickly produced a worn pack and a belt with four three heavy picks hanging from it. The picks were glowing with a bright blue color which pulsed brightly causing strange shadows upon the mans body as he snapped the belt around his waist and placed the pack on his back. Then from the hole he pulled a bow large enough to suit a balista which also was placed on his back with a quiver of arrows, before he reached into the hole one last time. The final thing he took from his hiding spot was a sword so large that even he had to wield it in two hands. The blade was a wickedly barbed and twisting thing nearly two foot wide and ten foot long with a terrible hook cut into it right before the tip, even the hand guard and hilt were either sharp or pointed enough to be considered weapons themselves. This too was placed into a scabbard on his back as he looked at the three stunned men still seated at the bar. Sheepishly he said "Just in case," and shrugged his massive shoulders as a solid iron helmet with only two eye slits snapped down over his face. The red and purple carped unrolled itself and flew to attatch itself to the armor before falling loosely on his back to act as a cape for the now massive man.

"Well am I worthy of your task yet?" Vladamir asked the stumbling boy who was staring wide eyed as the time honored warrior, "I wonder what's keeping those two."

"You didn't get the message from Mithrindir?" a voice from the corner asked. "You must have been preoccupied with entertaining your guests."

Sterling turned to see a man standing in the corner where the carpet had just been with his arms crossed. The srange man was dressed all in a black and his clothing didn't cover him from his knees or elbow down. The exposed skin was scaled with small balck plates and seemed to emmit a shaddowy flame type substance. His face was covered except for his red eyes and the black flames flowed from the open area as well. His arms endded in three fingered hands with thick black claws and his legs were much the same. His long black tail whipped from side to side as he walked across the room to speak privatly with Vladamir.

Sterlings head was begining to swim from all of the excitement as Vladamir once agin turned to the three men. Sterling, still trying to figure out how the dark man had gained entry to the building without him noticing, barely heard what Vladamir was saying.

"Dayve has just informed me that Mithrindir, being a chosen of Mystra, is already at the battle and we shall soon join him. Lazarus is going to be delayed by a day or so since he is tinkering with this or that," Malus nodded as if he had an inkling into the necromancers business, "Would you mind waiting here for him so that he might join us and put to sleep the demons that haunt him? He never forgave himself for the betrayal of the one he loved." Vladamir paused, thinking he had said too much, then continued, "Tell Thanos that the keys are in the same spot as dad always kept them, and you can all stay here free of charge. We must go now and meet this daunting foe," Dayve was already channeling his energy for the shift between planes as Vladamir continued. "Tell my younger brother to stop by sometime when the world is not coming to an end."

The two men were outlined in silvery light and slowly began to fade away. Sterling watched the display intently as the two outlines became less and less distinct and finally as they began to disappear completly he heard Vladamirs voice one last time. All the man said was, "Look out Cade!"

Sterling spun around quickly to see Cade fall to the ground, convulsing in pain. The cleric clutched at his chest as the arcs of electricity circled his body, trying in vain to gain control of his muscles. Sterling searched the room for the source of the spell and quickly found what he was looking for.

A large man stood at the door to the inn. He was dressed in a blood red breast plate with red studded leather gloves. His skin was as pale as a lone cloud on a summer day and his waist length blonde hair blew about his shoulders in the a wild dance. Sterling stood petrified in fear from his terribley menacing red eyes.

Malus began casting a spell as the man started toward the two standing adventurers. "By the Gods!" Malus exclaimed, "He has an antimagic sphere around him!"

Sterling's sword flew from his scabbard as he charged the large man who had just produced twin daggers from his own belt. His anger washed over him like a wave of scalding water as his feet pounded the wooden floor. The distance between the two men closed quickly and the battle commenced. Sterling's sword rang time and time again off of the daggers of his enemy. His mind worked frantically trying to remember the drills Thanos had put him through the previous week and during their travel to the city. He struck out with two quick jabs and relief washed over him as he felt the tip of his sword dig into the shoulder of the red armor. However his confidence quickly faded as the man turned around pulling the blade free revealing no blood. The daggers came at Sterling in a dangerous dance too fast for him to keep up with. Before he knew it the boy was backing away from his attacker as fast as his feet could carry him. After a particularly strong offensive attempt from the attacker, Sterling saw an opening in the man's defense. Sterling parried the daggers sending the man's arms high into the air and followed the parry with a hard low thrust. The man dodged to the left and Sterling's blade struck nothing but air as he lost his balance and fell onto his face behind the man. The man struck out with his dagger as Sterling fell tearing a nice cut in his leather armor and a good portion of the boy's side.

Sterling turned quickly onto his back as his sword skidded across the room and out the door. The man stood over the boy with a twisted grin stretching across his face. He brought a dagger down swiftly as the boy's eyes closed in anticipation of the killing blow. A scream of rage and confusion caused Sterling to once again open his eyes. To his surprise the man's dagger was burried to the hild in a stool laying beside Sterling on the floor and he fought with another stool that was flying across the room. That's when he noticed Malus standing across the room in deep concentration with his arms working hard in front of him.

The stool's seat was pounding against the man's face and chest as he fought to stop its berrating attacks. The man was pushed back by the stool into the now empty corner where the armor had once stood. The stool struck the man's face once more, pinning his head to the wall with what seemed like great force. Sterling heard the mans nose break as the stool began spinning on his face, grinding the sking from his cheek. The man let out a terrible scream and launched his dagger through the air in the gnome's direction.

The dagger completly bypassed the wizard and burried itself deep in Cade's chest as the man started laughing loudly. Sterling ran to the cleric's side, but he could do nothing to help his friend. The dagger had pierced his lungs and heart, Cade was dead. Tears ran from Sterlings eyes as he pulled the dagger from his fallen comrade and charged across the room. In his anger Sterling grabbed a leg of the spinning stool and flung it across the room.

The man's laughter stopped suddenly as he looked into the boy's eyes. Sterling ran his dagger into the man's stomach twice and then began stabbing him in less critical areas until the man finally died several minutes later in screaming agony. Sterling stood for a long time over the man's body until the flow of blood finally stopped and it settled into the wood around his feet. He then dropped the dagger and shakily walked back to the bar.

Malus waited patiently, saying nothing as Sterling finished his grim work. Malus knew that the innocent boy who wandered into their world, was no more. He was now a warrior.

It was a few hours before the others returned to the inn. Sterling had become more than a little drunk and still shaken from his first actual kill. Thanos and Holg carried the body out and Gerbo went to the temple. Thanos and Holg returned first and moved Cade's body into one of the rooms before having another drink with Sterling.

The party sat in silence until Gerbo returned with the priest from the temple of Gond. Malus and the priest spoke in hushed tones before leading the man upstairs to Cade's room. They spent a few hours in the room before returning to the main floor of the inn. Sterling looked at the two men hopefully but was disappointed when he saw the sad looks on their faces.

The priest stopped as the other gathered around him by the front door. He looked from face to face before stopping on Sterling and saying, "I'm afraid Shar needed him with her more than we needed him here." Sterling dropped his head as the man handed him Cade's silver holy symbol and walked through the door.

As the priest vanished into the night Thanos quietly said, "May Mourn Redglove forever burn in the Grey Wastes of Hades!"

**. . .**

Two days passed and the party fell into a routine, running the inn that Thanos had called home as a child. Malus' eyes brightened as a deathly pale looking man walked through the door of the inn. "Lazarus!" the gnome shouted to the startled man in black.

"Malus?" Lazarus asked, "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

Malus crossed the crowded room to greet his one time friend. The gnome placed his hand on the tall mans back and led him up the stairs to a room where he could fill the man in on the situation they were facing.

Sterling busily carried drinks from table to table as he listened to the song Gerbo was singing on the stage. He had trouble dealing with taking the man's life and the death of Cade. It tormented him even further when he had learned the name of his victim, Mourn Redglove.

Mourn was a long time rival of Cade from the time they were children. Cade had always been the better cleric and Mourn was forever jealous. He had recently converted, thinking Shar had stripped him of his powers, to the temple of Bane. Shortly after the conversion the party had showed up in town and Mourn decided to test his new powers on his long time rival and enemy.

Sterling placed his tray back onto the bar as he noticed Malus coming down the stairs alone. The little man motioned for him and Thanos to come with him before returning up the stairs. Thanos and Sterling gave each other a quick glance and followed him up the stairs.

They entered the room that Cade's body was in and were quickly introduced to Lazarus Vale. A tall slender human garbbed in ragged black clothing. His cheeks were sunken in and his cheek bones were sharp and protruding, exaggerating his dark eye sockets which seemed to sink all the way back into his thin head. His skin was as pale as a white sheet and he appeared very thin and frail, however he emminated power in every ounce of his gaunt body.

Lazarus nodded to the two who entered the room and said to Thanos, "I think I can retrive this one, his god is not opposed to it."

Thanos' eyes widended as he said, "Do it then wizard. What are you waiting for?"

Lazarus looked at the fighter showing no emotion as he said, "Necromancy is much different than divine magic, it will take time and it will tax me greatly. It will also cost you all much, for there is something I need to perform the spell and to rejoin my friends in the battle on the celestial plane."

"Anything he needs!" Thanos exclaimed, "I owe him my life many times over, as do we all!"

Sterlings eyes brightened as he realized that Lazarus was no normal caster. "He needs his phylactery to perform his magic," he said pointedly.

Lazarus nodded to the boy and said to Malus, "This one knows much for a simple fighter."

"He's not as simple as he seems." Malus replied with a smirk.

"Indeed." Lazarus said studying the boy.

Sterling looked from one mage to the other as they continued their banter in a language he couldn't understand. After a few minutes Sterling asked, "What do we have to do Lazarus?"

Thanos chimed in proudly, "It doesn't matter what it is. I would trudge through a pile of bodies in the deepest pits of Hell to have him back."

Lazarus' eyes lit up at the statement and replied, "Funny you should say that my friend, funny you should say that."

**. . .**

Later that night the party gathered at the bar waiting for Malus and Lazarus to come downstairs. Gerbo paced franticlly, unable to stand the anticipation of the events to come. The others sat quietly drinking at the bar watching the little gnome's frantic activity. Gerbo quickly ran to his seat as the two came down the stairs.

"Well lets have it then!" Gerbo said quickly, wanting to have this business done with. If he disliked anything more than cats it had to be the presence of a powerful lich.

Malus had a grim look on his face as he began, "Lazarus can bring Cade back from the dead, however we must go and retrive his Pylactery."

"Good well then lets be off. The sooner we start, the quicker we'll finish. Where is it Malus?" Gerbo asked as he stood to leave.

Lazarus replied, "It's not as easy as that I'm afraid, my eager little friend. It was sent to another palne as a safe guard against me by my old friends."

Thanos shot Sterling a worried look only to be greeted by the same emotion of confusion and worry plastered on the boys face. Holg sat calmly gnawing on a chicken bone at the bar oblivious to what was being said.

Malus continued, "Lazarus is a lich which most of you have probably already figured out, and that ammount of power doen't come at an easy price. Now before we do this Lazarus wants to tell you how he came to be this way and why his Phylactery is so important to him. Lazarus?"

Malus sat down and Lazarus began, "It was many years ago, before I met the Godstoppers and became one of them. I was once obsessed with power and knowledge, so much so that it ruined my life. My party then included my three close friends and my fiancee, Rebecca. Our group had been hired out by the Kingdom of Newshire, a frequent customer of our talents, to take care of a Lich that had taken root in the desert a few days march from the castle walls. He had been attacking for the better part of the year when we had been off fighting another Kingdom's war, but that's another story, until they had had enough.

We were sent through the desert, and eventually came upon the first layer of  
traps, defenses and monsters. I'll skip here and get to the major point. We  
had been split up in the Lich's maze, separated by living walls, until I was  
left alone to face the Lich. I held him off long enough for the rest of the  
party to make it to the room and unleashed hell upon him. He was, at that  
point, barely hanging on to unlife when it was decided I should end the  
thing's life, we had found and destroyed it's phylactery earlier.

I was about to crush it's skull, when it drew a book from its robes and pushed  
it to my chest. With out a thought I grabbed the book and destroyed the  
skull. Nobody had seen the book, so I hid it beneath my own robes.

Later, back at our conjoined headquarters, of which I carved out my own  
section, I looked through the book which detailed the method by which a  
Necromancer could become a Lich, but it had a terrible cost.

At this point I'll stop the story for a bit more background. I am a puppeteer. I can make and orchestrate people and situations to mostly fit my desires, not to sound conceited, but it's true. I had been wooing Rebecca for some time; I'm not especially proud of what I did, but back to the story.

I had gone behind my teams back and hired a group of high level assassins tokidnap Rebecca and hold her hostage. My party immediately rushed off to save her.

This next part is difficult for me to say, because it breaks my heartevery time I think of it. The final battle was in an underground tunnel, already set up for the ritual, Rebecca tied to a ceremonial post, spread eagle. Deep runes and lines carved deeply into the stone floor, and the assassins waiting in the shadows.

When we burst through the door, which I recently installed, her face lit up with a joyous smile, her Knight in Dead Armor had arrived...

Diaden and Lanis, my friends, immediately tried to get to her, to be stopped by two the the trio, Frederick took up a defensive position with me behind him, assuming that I would start casting spells...

I said to them, 'I'm sorry', and killed Frederick with a Finger of Deathspell...I died a bit inside at Rebecca's crashing look of loss and desperation...

Lanis and Diaden were too shocked to do anything...the assassins slit their throats...Rebecca was the only one left. She just sat there, not saying anything, just staring at me in shock and denial, she too was murdered...

The blood from the four of them, as well as the assassins who were quickly disposed of, intermingled and filled the lines and glyphs...My phylactery was the wedding ring I was going to give to Rebecca before I got hold of the book...

Rebecca's expression still spits upon my black heart. Was worth it...I still don't know the true answer." Lazarus looked at the horrified faces around him and hung his head before he continued.

"Years later I met Mithrindir and the Godstoppers and joined their cause. I still battled with bouts of great depression and became prone to episodes of silence that lasted many weeks. Eventually Mithrindir decided to help me by taking the thing that i held most dear and putting it in a place that I could not dare enter.

He opened a portal into the Grey Waste of Hades and casted my ring and my soul into Hell without even a second thought. He then said to me, 'If you venture after your ring now you will be forever locked, body and soul, in hell where you know you belong. Now put your past sins behind you and try to live your life for the friends you ruthlessly betrayed and murdered. Do not let them have died in vain.' Then he turned from me as I sobbed, staring into the portal, and closed the gateway before me." The lich visibly shook recalling the memory and turned from the party in shame.

The party glanced around the room at the others know knowing what had to be done to save their friend and their existence. Gerbo placed his head onto the par with an unusual look of dispair on his face.

Holg stood after finishing his chicken and casually replied, "Looks like were all going to Hell."

The group began laughing until even the sullen Necromancer joined in. After a few minutes they had calmed down and assured Lazarus that they would retrive the ring and return to help Cade.

They gathered their things and all stood around the glyph drawn in chalk on the floor of the main room. Malus stood chanting and waving his arms as the party watched. His movements increased in speed and urgency as the glyph began to glow and shimmeer in the candle light. A hot gust of wind blew the candles out as a large red glowing door rose from the floor as Malus finished his chant. The gnome touched the door and the door opened to reveal a desolate wasteland of dying trees and scorched earth. Every few feet was a portal glowing in a whitish blue color showing a different view and landscape beyond its border.

Malus turned to the group and said, "For Cade," as he stepped through the portal and for the first time in his life, experienced hell.


End file.
